How to Cultivate Trust
A Make-or-Break Skill for Leaders
Companies that make the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® List outperform the stock market by a factor of nearly four. What do these organizations have in common? “Best Company” leaders create an environment where employees trust the people they work for, enjoy the people they work with, and find meaning in the work they do.
Trust is vital. According to Deloitte, 80% of employees who have high levels of trust in their employers feel motivated to work, versus less than 30% of those who don’t. Leaders who cultivate trust create a stable foundation for their employees and organization to flex, adapt, and thrive.
Unfortunately, according to the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer, there’s an unprecedented drop in trust for business leaders, signaling frustration and anxiety in the global workforce. There is a silver lining though: according to Richard Edelman, “Our research tells us that when people see solutions, they’re more hopeful and willing to sacrifice for the greater good. When trust is earned, optimism grows.”
So how do you earn the trust needed to find solutions? By doing what you say you will do, according to long-time leadership researchers, Kouzes & Posner, and by optimizing relationships and communication with each member of your team. Especially in times of rapid change and uncertainty, it truly matters for people to feel you “Get” them.
Whole Brain Thinking® to the rescue. Consider which of these preference(s) might resonate with each of your team members and flex accordingly:
Whole Brain Thinking® helps you cultivate the trust at the heart of customizing the calm and communicating that you’re all in it together in these challenging times:
When a team trusts its leader and each member, and the leader trusts the team, together they can accomplish great things.
If you could use a hand cultivating that kind of culture, I’m a Master Whole Brain Thinking®/HBDI® Facilitator & Executive Coach
I’ve facilitated Whole Brain® Thinking team experiences with a wide variety of organizations like Netflix, BMW, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Dr. Martens, Aegon Asia, NASA, Wells Fargo, and Red Bull to help propel their organization’s success. I’d love to support you and your team too!
A Few Quotes About Trust:
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You’re going to meet plenty of people in life who are difficult, or who you disagree with—but never let that be a reason to stop listening. Our curiosity is what teaches us how people became who they are and believe what they believe. It’s the seed for understanding and empathy. And it’s absolutely essential to rebuilding trust in our society. ~ Melinda French Gates
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To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved. ~ George MacDonald
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We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that something deep inside us is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit. ~ e.e. cummings
